Highschool of the Dead
Highschool of the Dead (学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD, Gakuen Mokushiroku Haisukūru obu za Deddo?, lit. "Academy Apocalypse Highschool of the Dead") is a manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. The story follows a group of high school students caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The series was serialized in the September 2006 issue of Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age, and the first volume was released by Kadokawa Shoten on March 1, 2007, with a total of seven volumes available in Japan as of April 25, 2011. The series is licensed in North America by Yen Press, and released the first volume on January 25, 2011. An anime adaptation produced by Madhouse aired in Japan from July 5, 2010 to September 20, 2010. Plot Highschool of the Dead is set in present day Japan, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as "Them" (奴ら, Yatsu-ra?). The story follows a group of high school students, the school's nurse, and a young girl as they fight their way to safety through the deadly streets of Japan during the worldwide catastrophic event known as the "Outbreak". As the cast tries to survive the zombie apocalypse, they must also face the additional threats of societal collapse, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors, and the possible decay of their own moral codes. Media Manga Highschool of the Dead began serialization in the July 2006 issue of Fujimi Shobo's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age. The first bound volume was released by Fujimi Shobo on March 1, 2007 under Kadokawa Shoten's "Dragon Jr." imprint, with a total of seven volumes sold as of April 25, 2011. From Volume 6 onwards, the manga is currently published under Fujimi Shobo's "Dragon Comics Age" imprint. The series went on hiatus from the end of 2008 until March 2010, with another short break between May and July 2010. The series has been on yet another hiatus since March 2011. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press, and released the first volume on January 25, 2011. A full-color version of H.O.T.D., called Highschool of the Dead: Full-Color Edition (学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD FULL COLOR EDITION?) began serialization in the February 2011 issue of Monthly Dragon Age. The first two volumes were released by Kadokawa Shoten on February 25, 2011, with all seven volumes currently available in Japan as of March 9, 2013. In North America, the full-color edition began serialization in the March 2011 issue of Yen Press' Yen Plus online magazine, and ran until the July 2011 issue. It was later released as a hardcover omnibus on November 22, 2011. The manga has been licensed for international release in a number of languages and regions. It is published in Spain by Glénat España, in Germany by Carlsen, in Brazil by Panini Comics, in Canada and France for French-language publication by Pika Édition, in Poland by Waneko, and in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media. The first volume was released in May 2008 in Spain, in March 2010 in Germany, in April 2010 in Brazil, and in June 2011 in Poland. Shortly following the inception of the series and before it was licensed for distribution in English, the manga became popular enough in English via scanlation to draw the attention of the creators, who included a message in English within the magazine's printing of the fifth chapter that requested readers to buy the original manga when it's available. A crossover manga by Shouji Sato, called Shōji Sato Artworks: Highschool of the Dead & Triage X - Lightning Pop (佐藤ショウジアートワークス 学園黙示録HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD＆トリアージＸ LIGHTNING POP, Satō Shōji Ātowākusu: Gakuen Mokushiroku Haisukūru obu za Deddo & Toriāji Ekkusu Raitoningu Poppu?), was published on August 9, 2012, featuring characters from Triage X, Sato's other work. In February 2013, the color editions of Volume 5 and 6 featured jacket bands that confirm that the Highschool of the Dead manga would resume in spring. Anime An anime adaptation of H.O.T.D. produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki aired on the Japanese network AT-X from July 5, 2010 to September 20, 2010, with subsequent broadcasts on TV Kanagawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, and Sun TV. Six DVD and Blu-ray volumes were released by Geneon Universal Entertainment between September 22, 2010 and February 23, 2011. In North America, the anime series was licensed by Anime Network for simulcast Some of the more graphic scenes were censored. In Australia and New Zealand, the series was licensed by Madman Entertainment. Sentai and Madman later gained additional rights to the series, with Section23 Films releasing the series with an English dub (produced by Seraphim Digital) on Blu-ray and DVD on June 28, 2011. Manga Entertainment also released the series in the United Kingdom. The English dub of the series aired on Anime Network's VOD service from March 10, 2011 to May 26, 2011, and was made available on Microsoft's Zune Marketplace and Apple's iTunes Store on May 27, 2011 and June 27, 2011, respectively. An OVA episode of H.O.T.D., entitled "Drifters of the Dead", was bundled on Blu-ray with the limited edition release of the seventh volume of the manga on April 26, 2011. It was originally intended for a February release, but was pushed back. It was later licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America for streaming, with the DVD and Blu-ray to be released on November 26, 2013. Music The series' opening theme is "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" by Kishida Kyoudan and the Akeboshi Rockets. The series' closing theme songs differ in each episode, and each are sung by Maon Kurosaki. The CD single for the opening theme was released on August 18, 2010 by Geneon Universal Entertainment. The CD single features the TV and instrumental versions of "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" and a new song called "Ripple" (リプル, Ripuru?), along with an instrumental version of the song. A CD containing all 12 ending themes sung by Kurosaki was released by Geneon on September 22, 2010, along with an original soundtrack. Characters The manga and anime series Highschool of the Dead features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō with their storyline written by Daisuke Satō. The series revolves around a pandemic that turns humans into zombies, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as "Them" (奴ら, Yatsu-ra?), and the story follows a group of students at Fujimi High School: Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi, and Kohta Hirano. Shizuka Marikawa, the high school's nurse, and Alice Maresato, a young girl, join the students as they fight their way to safety through the deadly streets of Japan during a worldwide catastrophic event known as the "Outbreak". Conception Daisuke Sato, who has previously worked on various military genre games and manga, which include Imperial Guards, wrote the story which uses the perspective of Japanese high school students and refers to classic zombie apocalypse movies such as Dawn of the Dead. Character design was done by manga artist Shōji Satō whose previous work was mostly self-published titles in the adult genre, and this was his first major non-hentai title. Character Kohta Hirano was named after and visually resembles Kouta Hirano, the creator of the Hellsing manga. Masayoshi Tanaka, who also did Ano Hana, Toradora and later Waiting in the Summer, served as the Chief Animation Director and Character Designer for the anime adaptation. Series Director Tetsurō Araki, who previously directed Death Note and Black Lagoon, mentioned in an 2010 Dragon Age interview, that he wanted to fill in the anime with many jiggling breast scenes, and that he was aiming for something he would have bought himself in middle school. Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network agrees with the intent: "turns out this show has decided that the one thing the zombie genre was missing were anime boobs." The anime also had a character break the fourth wall: when asked why she is so ditzy, she responds that she was designed that way. Director Steven Foster, in his English dub adaptation, changed Takashi Komuro's character to use more profanity, as well as adding modern references to people such as Sarah Palin. Main characters Takashi Komuro :Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe, Hitomi Harada (child) (Japanese), Leraldo Anzaldua (English) Takashi Komuro (小室 孝, Komuro Takashi?) is a 17 year-old second-year student of Fujimi High School and the male protagonist and viewpoint character of the series. He and Rei are childhood friends and also in the same class. Several years ago, Rei makes a promise to marry him in the future, but because he is indecisive, Rei dates his friend Hisashi. At the beginning of the series, he notices the zombies attack the teachers at the front gate. When Hisashi gets bitten, Takashi is asked by Hisashi to throw him off the roof, but Rei stops him. When Hisashi turns into a zombie, Takashi kills Hisashi with a blow to the head. After Rei accuses Takashi of jealousy, Takashi proceeds to leave, but Rei holds him back and apologizes; he responds with a hug. Although he is not a model student and repeats a grade, Takashi shows his resolve to protect his friends and is appointed the leader of the group by his peers. After fighting his way out of school with a baseball bat, Takashi recovers a Smith & Wesson Model 37 pistol from a dead cop, and later uses an Ithaca M37 riot shotgun that he and Kohta acquire at Rika's apartment. When they raid the police station, he upgrades to a Benelli M4 Super 90 combat shotgun. Although he does not officially have a license, Takashi rides a motorcycle and he also drives an Argo ATV. Rei Miyamoto :Voiced by: Marina Inoue (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English) Rei Miyamoto (宮本 麗, Miyamoto Rei?) is Takashi Komuro's classmate with orange-brown hair and golden brown eyes. Before the events of the series, Rei makes a pinky promise to marry Takashi in the future, but because of Takashi's indecisiveness, Rei dates Hisashi. Rei is initially upset that Takashi kills Hisashi after Hisashi becomes a zombie, but when Takashi leaves, Rei quickly rescinds her words and apologizes while pulling him back. In chapter 12, Rei tells Takashi that girls like guys that are cute and caring, even though Takashi replies that he was not either of those. That's why she likes him, and she does not want him to be with any other girls. Rei despises Mr. Shido, mainly because Shido held Rei back a school year and caused trouble for her father. Rei is a member of the sōjutsu club, and thus her weapons are mainly in the form of spears. At the start of the series, Rei fights with a broomstick with a broken but sharp end. After visiting Rika's apartment, she upgrades to a Springfield M1A1 Super Match rifle with a bayonet attached. Character designer Shōji Satō featured Rei and Saeko in cross-over illustrations for his other manga Triage X and the video game Lollipop Chainsaw, where their high school uniforms are available as downloadable content costumes for main character Juliet Starling. Saeko Busujima :Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Taylor Hannah (English) Saeko Busujima (毒島 冴子, Busujima Saeko?) is a third-year student at Fujimi High School with dark violet hair and bright blue eyes. As the president of the school's kendo club; Saeko carries a bokken (wooden sword). Saeko is introduced as a calm and collected girl with pride in her skills, as she does a mercy killing on an infected student. Her father is somewhere abroad for a martial arts tournament. Saeko shares with Takashi about how she is almost assaulted by a guy, but she easily fights back with her bokken, and breaks several of his bones before the police came. Although Takashi claims it was self-defense, Saeko says this is her "raw nature" of taking pleasure in inflicting pain, and in that way she is no different from one of the zombies. She struggles with this part of her character, and even considers giving up to "them", until Takashi helps restore her confidence. Saeko initially uses the bokken, but upgrades to a katana when she is at the shinto temple then again at the Takagi estate. After the gang visit the police station, Saeko carries a M92 Vertec handgun on her thigh as a secondary weapon. Saeko was featured along with Rei in some cross-over illustrations for Triage X and Lollipop Chainsaw, the latter of which features her purple high school uniform as a downloadable content costume. Saya Takagi :Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese), Maggie Flecknoe (English) Saya Takagi (高城 沙耶, Takagi Saya?) is a second-year student at Fujimi High School who has her pink hair in twin tails and wears glasses. She and Takashi have been childhood friends since kindergarten, although this is not brought up until the gang reaches the Takagi estate. Saya is the daughter of an influential right-wing nationalist politician, and her family is wealthy, that they are able to use their mansion estate as a base. Her relationship with her parents is mixed; on one hand, she admires all their capabilities in saving their staff, but on the other hand, she believes they neglected to look for her when the outbreak happened. She detests the formality that comes with her status such as when people call her by her last name and never look at her when speaking. Thus, she insists that Kohta and Takashi call her by her first name, and states that they would lose that privilege to do so if they do not listen to her. But, she also wants Alice to call her by the -onee-sama (big sister) honorific. Saya is hinted to have romantic feelings for Takashi but denies it when confronted. Saya's disdain for Kohta in the anime changes and grows during the course of the season. When he quickly constructs a viable weapon out of a nail gun, she is taken aback by his eagerness to kill, but follows his lead. When her father's men try to take Kohta's guns away from him, Saya not only comes to his defense, but boldly states that Kohta was doing what her father failed to do--protect her and keep her safe. When Kohta shows an understanding about human nature, Saya says with a wry smile, "My opinion of you went up a little." Kohta's image also haunts her in a dream, and she tries to bury her feelings when she sees Kohta and Asami happily conversing; she sadly tells Alice that she can not be the best in everything. At first, Saya does not carry weapons; she uses an electric drill on a zombie, but she acquires a rifle when she and the gang are stuck at the Humvee. When the zombies invade the Takagi estate, Saya's mother gives her a Luger P08 pistol. After the gang raids the police station, she expresses her desire to fight more, and exchanges her mom's Luger for Kohta's Suppressed MP5 SFK. Kohta Hirano :Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese), Mark X. Laskowski (English) Kohta Hirano (平野 コータ, Hirano Kōta?) is a 16-year old second-year student at Fujimi High School who appears to be just another wimpy overweight guy with glasses, but is actually a gun enthusiast. He credits this to a visit to America, where he trained with a former Delta Force member for a month. In the beginning of the story, Saya finds Kohta, who was cringing in the hallway as students run out in panic. They hide out in a classroom where Hirano is able to put together a nail gun rifle powered by gas cartridges. Kohta has an unrequited crush on Saya. After Alice's father is killed, Kohta provides long-range cover while Takashi rescues Alice Maresato from approaching zombies. At Saya's mansion, Kohta is confronted by some of Takagi's followers who demand that he surrender his weapons, but Kohta refuse; he says this was the one thing he was good at, and that he wanted to protect Saya. The rest of the group, including Saya, came out to defend him. At the shopping mall, Kohta develops feelings for the police officer trainee, Asami Nakaoka, after helping her subdue an angry mall survivor. He spends some quality time with her, and convinces her to join the group. Unfortunately, the friendship is short-lived as Asami attempts to save a boy in the parking lot, and gets trapped. She shouts for Kohta to make it so that she will not become a zombie and cause pain to others around her. Kohta later finds himself in shock, but he is set straight by Shizuka, who uses a psychology trick of ordering him around like a sergeant. Kohta uses a variety of firearms; he favors the AR-10 (illegally modified to resemble an SR-25), since it has a scope to take out targets from a distance. During the raid on the police station, Kohta finds a Suppressed MP5 SFK, but gives it to Saya in exchange for her mom's Luger P08 pistol. His character seems to be based on Hirano Kōta, the author of the Hellsing manga, as they both wear glasses, are overweight, and have detailed knowledge of different firearms. Shizuka Marikawa :Voiced by: Yukari Fukui (Japanese), Monica Rial (English) Shizuka Marikawa (鞠川 静香, Marikawa Shizuka?) is a single 27-year old school nurse at Fujimi High School. At the beginning of the story, Marikawa is nearly killed by a student turned zombie but is saved by Saeko Busujima. She has a rather ditsy personality, and her large bust size is often used as a comical element in the story. She is close friends with Rika Minami, who works as a sniper on the prefectural police Special Assault Team, and she even house-sits for Rika; the gang uses Rika's apartment to rest after they escape the high school. Although she is the only adult in the group, she is emotionally fragile and does not know what will become of her life. She reveals to Takashi Komuro that she is just the temporary school nurse, and that she is still taking classes and training. Despite that, Marikawa has put her knowledge to good use, and even brings Kohta Hirano to his senses after Asami Nakaoka was killed. As the eldest member of the main group, and the only one with a license, Marikawa drives the bus out of the school, and then Rika's military-grade Humvee. Alice Maresato :Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English) Alice Maresato (希里 アリス, Maresato Arisu?, "Arisu Maresato" in the anime) is a 7 year-old second-grade girl whom Kohta and Takashi rescue from the zombie horde after her father is killed by members of a household who would not allow them shelter. She seems to have a cheery attitude, as Takashi and Saeko comment how she has "done well" in coping with the loss. In the English dub of the anime, she goes by the name Arisu. According to a bonus chapter, she is the next door neighbor to Takashi's friend, Imamuru. Other characters Hisashi Igo :Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese), David Matranga (English) Hisashi Igo (井豪 永, Igō Hisashi?) is a second year Fujimi High School student and Rei Miyamoto's classmate and boyfriend. He refers to the zombies as "them" since they are not quite like the ones seen in movies, and that becomes the name for any zombies the main group encounters in the series. On the way out of class, he is bitten by an infected teacher. Aware of his fate, he requests that Takashi throw him off the rooftop, but before Takashi could do that, he dies, which makes Rei cry in pain. After rising as one of "them", Takashi delivers a blow to his head. Koichi Shido :Voiced by: Kisho Taniyama (Japanese), Illich Guardiola (English) Koichi Shido (紫藤 浩一, Shidō Kōichi?) is the main antagonist of the series and the teacher of Class 3A. Rei Miyamoto is disgusted by him and Saeko Busujima says his name with a scowl, which hints of his villainous character, which is affirmed when he leaves behind a student who sprained his ankle and even kicks him back towards a group of pursuing zombies, and says there is no point in keeping weaklings alive. Kohta Hirano affirms that Shido used to allow bullies to beat Kohta up as he watched with glee. Initially Shido and his students join the main group aboard a bus that leaves the school, but soon afterwards he tries to lead the students. Saya and Saeko comment that Shido's actions are like that of a recruiter for a religious cult. Shido permits the main group to leave the bus except for Shizuka, but Kohta expresses his disapproval of Shido's actions and grazes Shido's face with a nail gun shot. Later on, Shido watches over an orgy among his followers. He finds this behavior acceptable during the group's "free time". Shido declares his followers "angels that will help usher in a new age", but when one of the boys disagrees and shows concern for his own family, Shido convinces his followers to eject the "weak link" for the sake of the New World, and they callously throw the teen off the bus and leave him to be eaten by "them". Koichi Shido is the son of Ichiro Shido, a politician. In the manga, when Koichi's mother dies, he becomes a teacher at Tokonosu where his father is a director, but his father reveals he has an illegitimate son, and forces him to work in the shady family business. One of the dealings involves stopping Rei’s father from investigating the Shido family’s funding; Shido arranges for Rei to be held back a year. When Rei threatens to kill Shido with her bayonet, Shido dares her to do it, but she cannot, as he is not worth the trouble. Saya's dad orders Shido and his student followers to leave, and he complies, but a high-altitude nuclear explosion causes both the bus and nearby forklift with a concrete barrier to stall and they collide. He recovers consciousness in time to see the undead horde that advances through the gap in the barrier. Shido reappears at the entrance to Shintoko Third Elementary School, which is a gathering point for some of the survivors. Rika Minami :Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi (Japanese), Melissa Davis (English) Rika Minami (南 リカ, Minami Rika?) is the chief of first squadron in the prefecture police, and an expert sniper (fifth in the country) in the Special Assault Team, who, along with the Special Security Team, are deployed to clear the nearby airport of any zombie stragglers and to rescue any survivors. She is friends with Shizuka Marikawa, and lets her house-sit when she goes on assignments. At the airport mission, her partner sacrifices himself by using jet fuel in a tanker to immolate the zombies. She manages to get in contact with Shizuka, who informs her that they "stayed over and borrowed her weapons and things," before the communication is cut by an EMP surge. She is last seen as she returns to the city to find Marikawa. Zeke :Voiced by: Hitomi Harada Zeke (ジーク, Jīku?), known in the English anime as Zero, is a dog that joins the group when Takashi rescues Alice. He is named after the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane, which was also nicknamed Zeke by the Allied forces during World War II. Soichiro Takagi :Voiced by: Jouji Nakata (Japanese), Andrew Love (English) Soichiro Takagi (高城 壮一郎, Takagi Sōichirō?) is the leader of a right-wing nationalist group in the Tokonosu district. He manages to keep his staff and a group of survivors holed up at his estate, and mobilizes some of them to defend against the zombies when they do their runs to check the power and water stations. When his subordinate and best friend, the Takagi family Retainer, becomes a zombie, Takagi puts him in a cage, and in a public demonstration where he states that the zombie has no humanity left, unleashes and beheads him. Soichiro seems to be a sword expert: he prefers to use the sword instead of his wife's Luger P08 pistol and has trained with Saeko Busujima's father. Later he entrusts Saeko with a katana. When the zombies breach the estate, he and his troops fight them off. He tells Takashi Komuro to go save Rei's parents, and entrusts Kouta Hirano with protecting Saya. While the Takagis and the rest of the estate survivors fight against the horde, Soichiro comments that they are proud of their daughter and the friends she has made. Yuriko Takagi :Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara (Japanese), Shelley Calene-Black (English) Yuriko Takagi (高城 百合子, Takagi Yuriko?) is Saya's mother and a businesswoman who has worked in New York City as a Wall Street stock broker until she meets and marries Soichiro Takagi. Thanks to her business connections, the Takagi family fortune rises significantly. When the zombies breach the estate, she gives Saya her Luger P08 pistol, and then proceeds to assist her husband in fighting the horde. Miku Yuuki :Voiced by: Airi Sakuno (Japanese), Emily Neves (English) Miku Yuuki (夕樹 美玖, Yūki Miku?) is a second-year Fujimi High student, who schoolmate Morita says is one of the sexiest girls in school. She sides with Koichi Shido when he takes over the bus, and participates in their debauchery. When one of the students questions Shido, Yuuki suggests they kick him off the bus. She also helps Shido enter the Takagi estate by flirting with one of the guards, but is forced to leave after Shido is expelled from the estate. She later appears alongside Shido at the entrance to Shintoko Third Elementary School. Asami Nakaoka Asami Nakaoka (中岡 あさみ, Nakaoka Asami?) is a young traffic enforcer for Tokonosu Higashi Police Station; she guards a group of survivors at a nearby mall. She refers to herself in the third-person. Asami's authority quickly wanes amongst the survivors until Kohta Hirano and Takashi Komuro arrive and build up her confidence by giving her a Smith & Wesson Model 37 pistol (the standard-issue firearm for Japanese police officers). She develops a liking for Kohta after he subdues a guy named Shimada who wanted to sexually assault Shizuka Marikawa. Asami later accompanies Takashi to help obtain blood plasma for a sick survivor and is forced to mercy kill one of the mall survivors, Tamaru, when he gets bitten by "them". Asami's superior officer is Matsushima, who leaves for the police station before Takashi and the gang arrive. Asami is shocked to find Matsushima who is walking as a zombie. She dejectedly runs to the mall's rooftop but is encouraged by Kohta to go with him and his friends. When the zombies invade the mall, Asami uses some firecrackers to divert their attention. Shortly after breaking out of the mall with the group, she attempts to save a frightened student trapped on top of a truck in the parking lot. She and Shimada distract the zombies long enough for the student to escape, however Asami herself becomes trapped without any more bullets. Asami shouts that she hates Kohta, although Takashi immediately recognizes and tells Kohta that she is just yelling to attract the zombies so that they can escape. She shouts out one final request for Kohta not to allow her to become a zombie, and Kohta sadly aims his rifle at her head as she salutes goodbye. Tadashi Miyamoto :Voiced by: Jin Urayama (Japanese), Steven Knight (English) Tadashi Miyamoto (宮本 正, Miyamoto Tadashi?) is Rei's father and a police officer in the series. He first appears in Chapter 30. Previously, only his voice was heard on Rei's cellphone in a bad one-way connection. Prior to the outbreak, Miyamoto has been investigating Koichi Shido's family on possible fraud and corruption charges, but learns that his daughter Rei was held back a year because of his actions. He apologizes to Rei but continues his investigation with the goal of arresting the Shidos. Tadashi leaves a message on the whiteboard at the police station for all surviving police to head towards Shintoko Third Elementary School for a scheduled evacuation by the SDF. Kiriko Miyamoto Kiriko Miyamoto (宮本 貴理子, Miyamoto Kiriko?) is Rei's mother who is one of the neighborhood survivors. On a mission to get more supplies, the neighbors shut her out, but she happens to unite with Rei and the gang. They head to Shintoko Third Elementary School to meet with the other survivors. Kiriko has worked for the police as an officer and is nicknamed Precinct Kiriko for her ferocity. She uses her husband's spear with some apparent expertise. Episodes Highschool of the Dead is an anime series adapted from the manga of the same name written by Daisuke Sato and illustrated by Shoji Sato. The series is set in the present day, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies. The story follows Takashi Komuro, a student at Fujimi High School who survived the initial outbreak along with several of his classmates and the school nurse, and occasionally jumps to the perspective of other characters. As the group tries to survive the zombie apocalypse, they must also face dangerous fellow survivors and the decay of their own moral codes. The series is produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsurō Araki, with series composition by Yousuke Kuroda, music by Takafumi Wada, character design by Hitomi Ochiai and Masayoshi Tanaka, and art and sound direction by Ayu Kawamoto and Kazuya Tanaka respectively. The series aired on AT-X from July 5, 2010 to September 20, 2010, with later broadcasts on TV Kanagawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, and Sun TV. Six DVD and Blu-ray volumes were released by Geneon Universal Entertainment between September 22, 2010 and February 23, 2011. In North America, the anime is licensed by Sentai Filmworks and simulcasted by Anime Network. The English dub of the series aired on Anime Network's VOD service from March 10, 2011 to May 26, 2011, and was made available on Microsoft's Zune Marketplace and Apple's iTunes Store on May 27, 2011 and June 27, 2011, respectively. Section23 Films later released the complete series on Blu-ray and DVD on June 28, 2011. Outside of North America, the anime is licensed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, with simulcasts available on their video portal, and in the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment. An OVA episode of H.O.T.D., entitled "Drifters of the Dead", was bundled with the limited edition of the seventh volume of the manga on Blu-ray April 26, 2011. It was originally intended for a February release, but was pushed back. The series' opening theme song is "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets. The series' closing theme songs differ in each episode, and each are sung by Maon Kurosaki. The CD single for the opening theme was released on August 18, 2010 by Geneon Universal Entertainment. A CD containing all 12 ending themes sung by Kurosaki was released by Geneon on September 22, 2010, along with an original soundtrack. Episode list Merchandise The characters of Highschool of the Dead are featured on various merchandise from wall-scroll posters and figurines (some of which have removable clothing) to keychains, wallets, cell phone charms, and T-shirts. Reception In Japan, the sixth volume of Highschool of the Dead reached #5 on the Oricon charts between July 5 and July 11, 2010, selling 92,040 copies, and #13 between July 12 and July 18, 2010, selling 43,714 copies for a total of 135,734 copies. The seventh volume of Highschool of the Dead reached #11 on the Oricon charts between May 2 and May 8, 2011, selling 57,016 copies, #2 between May 9 and May 15, 2011, selling 115,154 copies, and #19 between May 16 and May 22, 2011, selling 34,362 copies for a total of 206,532 copies. In North America, the second volume of H.O.T.D. reached The New York Times Best-Selling Manga List, reaching #4 between April 24 and April 30, 2011, #10 between May 1 and May 7, 2011, and #8 between May 8 and May 14, 2011. For the anime adaptation, Chris Beveridge from Mania.com comments on the first episode, "There's a lot to like here if you're looking for something beyond the usual high school dramas and comedies of the last few years." Carlo Santos of Anime News Network states that, "Other recent zombie works in Western entertainment have tried to play it ironic, or postmodernist, or just plain silly, but this one goes for straight-up horror—and pulls it off admirably." However, Zac Bertschy, also of Anime News Network, states for this episode that, "It just could've easily been written by a script generator or a horror fan with 19 minutes to kill." Andy Hanley of the UK Anime Network summaries the first manga volume as: "Nothing ground-breaking here, but a volume of mindless fun that brings all of the gory entertainment of a zombie apocalypse to the printed page." Chris Lanxon of Wired UK praises its production quality despite having no single original element. At a Comic-Con "Best and Worst Manga of 2011" panel, it was listed among the "Worst Manga" in a series of rapid-fire questions. Appearances in other titles Character designer Shōji Satō featured Rei and Saeko in crossover illustrations for his other manga Triage X and the video game Lollipop Chainsaw, where their high school uniforms are available as unlockable costumes for main character Juliet Starling. It was also briefly featured roughly halfway through episode 4 of Ano Natsu de Matteru. Deb Aoki found the manga characters to be interesting with distinct personalities and conflicts, but the fanservice to be utterly ridiculous and distracting. Chris Zimmerman of Comicbookbin.com criticizes the "one-note characters that have undergone little development" in the manga. Nick Browne of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews found the characters utterly dull and vapid; he wrote that there was "no hope for characters who must be stripped naked to become remotely interesting." Theron Martin of Anime News Network found the character dynamics interesting to watch especially between Kohta Hirano and Saya Takagi, and the "solid give-and-take relationship" between Takashi Komuro and Rei Miyamoto, although Shizuka Marikawa as a busty airhead was disappointing. Marcus Speer of Japanator.com listed Saeko Busujima as an honorable mention in his yearly list for best female characters, and praised her delivery of the phrase "I'm wet!" (濡れるッ!, Nureru!?). Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network wrote that the English dub voices were all just fine except for Monica Rial's "nigh-unlistenable high-pitched bimbo voice", and also wrote that Takashi changed from a "soft-spoken, straightforward fellow to a kid who just found out he can drop F-bombs without mom getting angry". Bertschy also criticizes the character design of the girls in the show as "ridiculously-endowed heroines" with "cartoon bombshell bodies" that are "tiresome and feels like it was written by a 13-year old." Category:Ecchi